Interview Author Lauren Dane + Giveaway

Today we’re very happy to welcome Lauren Dane on Book Lovers Inc. Lauren’s new book Inside Out came out last week, it’s the 3rd book in the Brown Siblings series. This series is one of my absolute favorites. I adore her characters and these books just make my heart melt. So it was a real pleasure and honor for me when Lauren agreed to answer our questions. Be sure to stay tuned till the end of the post for your chance to win Inside Out and believe me you want to. *wink* Please give Lauren a warm welcome.

The Geeky Lover: Lauren can you please tell us a bit about yourself?

Lauren: Let’s see…the official bio part goes like this: A few years ago, Lauren Dane decided to quit her job and stay home with her brand new second child. As a result, she had lots of conversations in a sing-song voice but no real outlet for adult thoughts and words. It was three years later, on bed-rest with her pregnancy with the tiny monster, that Lauren had plenty of down time. Her husband brought home a second hand laptop and she decided to “give that writing thing a serious go.”

Lauren had no idea how fabulously wonderful it would feel to actually make a go of her writing and she’s thankful every day people actually want to read what she writes! She’s well aware of her good fortune and loves every moment of it, even when she has to edit and put Barbie’s dresses back on over and over again. She still hasn’t managed to figure out how to shut out the sound of the Backyardigans so she can write a love scene, though.

A few things have changed. My kids are all finally in school so I don’t have to write over Backyardigans (though I often hear Justin Bieber in the background if my daughter is home). Otherwise, I’m fortunate enough to still be doing the job I love so much!

The Geeky Lover: Describe a typical day of writing? Are you a planner or pantser?

Lauren: I usually get up at 6 to start getting kids off to school. I try to take care of catch up stuff until they’re all gone and then get to work for a few hours. I used to be far more of a pantser back when I first started out. But the way the process works with the publishers I write for, they buy from synopses and/or samples/partials.

So I do synopsize my books loosely these days. I usually look at where I am each day, going back ten or 15 pages, and then reading back to where I am. I’ll think about what my writing that day should have. Sometimes it’s a quick note like, “fight in town” and other times it’s more about the emotional journey that character needs to take, “Erin reveals her fear to Ben.” And I’ll write the scenes that work for those characters. The outside framework, the synopsis is in place but all the filling is pretty much organic and written day by day. So far I’ve found this method to be really effective. I try not to get too stuck in one way to work. Over the years I learn more and try new things. I love that.

The Geeky Lover: What do you think is the difference between a reader and a real Book Lover?

Lauren: I know when I see a woman next to me on the bus dig through her bag around a book or an ebook reader, that’s a book lover. The kind of person who has not just a to-be-read stack, but a mountain of books and we still keep buying or checking out new ones from the library every single month, LOL!

Spine-crackers and page folders or those who never crack or fold – those of us who think of books as our friends, as a reason to stay in bed an entire Saturday afternoon just to read – we are book lovers.

The Geeky Lover: I think for everyone who ever read one of your books knows that family is always a really prominent topic in them. What do you think is the appeal of this? And why does it always play such an important role in your books?

Lauren: I personally find family to be incredibly important and so I know a big part of why it shows up so often in my books is simply because that’s how I view the world. Who we are to the people we care about. How they see us, how they view our actions – there’s no better way to understand a person than through the eyes of the people they love.

Family is a powerful thing. It’s about connection and personal history. All the little things that add up to create a relationship. It gives characters an instant, believable connection to other people, it enables readers to understand the characters as people much like someone they are, or that they know. Not even just in a biological sense, but the types of relationships we create with others. People who become ours in as important a way as a brother or parent is.

In romance, to me, connection is it. Connection is the floor, the ceiling, the very framework of the house. So it makes sense to me to write about family, especially in romance.

The Geeky Lover: Your new novel Inside Out is the third book in your Brown Siblings series. When you wrote Laid Bare, the first book, were you already sure that this would be a series?

Lauren: Originally, Laid Bare was going to be a three novella anthology about the Browns. But when I started writing Erin’s novella, as it began to open up and I got to know her, I knew for sure she had to have her own book. So once I had sold it and really got into the writing of it, I knew I wanted to write Brody’s book. My series are usually four books and as I wrote Coming Undone I knew I wanted to make the 3rd book Cope’s and the last book Adrian’s.

The Geeky Lover: We noticed something while reading the Brown Siblings novels: all your heroines have a name starting with an “E”. Did that happen by accident or did you do this on purpose? If the latter why?

Lauren: It was an accident. I didn’t realize the Elise and Erin thing until after the book was finished and the covers with the copy on it calling her Elise had been printed. And Ella was already named Ella in book one and she was meant to be with Cope, something I didn’t realize until I was plotting Cope’s book and that’s when I realized it would be three E names. But I was already too far along to change it and I wasn’t going to not write the book between those characters simply because they all had E names.

The Geeky Lover: What can we expect of Inside Out?

Lauren: Cope is a guy who has been all about surface in the last few books. The handsome, slightly promiscuous man who flirts with everyone and everyone, even his exes likes. I wanted to get past all that, down to the person no one really knows about.

No one but Ella. And it’s beign understood as something more than the ladies man, that really undoes Andrew Copeland. The book is really intimate and romantic because that’s who both these people are and who they need.

Cope is so much more than his hard abs and his sexual prowess. He’s poetry and slow dancing and Ella can’t resist him. I loved writing her falling for Andrew as she was also growing and getting stronger as a person, rebuilding a life that had fallen apart.

The Geeky Lover: Ella nearly died when her ex decided to let his anger out on her. She is still strong, as all your heroines, but how do you think she found the power to survive? What can we learn from her and her way to keep going and not give up on life?

Lauren: Ella had the inner strength to leave her boyfriend to begin with. She left him and she got a protection order. She did everything she was supposed to and still nearly ended up dead. So she was down, but not out. She was already a strong person and with the help and support of her parents and her friends, she was able to take the time she needed to get herself back on track.

I don’t think Ella ever would have considered anything but surviving. She wouldn’t have let her ex win.

The Geeky Lover: We already met your hero Andrew Copeland in the previous book. He is a really outgoing and flirty person- he is quite the charmer. How does he fit Ella? And how will he learn to keep his charms to himself or better said to Ella?

Lauren: As I said above, Ella understands him in a way no one ever has. She’s got his number and that appeals to him in a way no one else ever has or could. He’s been admired for how he looks. He’s been admired for how he is in bed. But no one brought out his desire to recite poetry in bed.

For Andrew, there simply is no other woman on earth for him but Ella. She’s the key to his lock. They fit. She loves him and his family and friends. She makes room in her life for him. She’s his.

The Geeky Lover: We read that in Inside Out your hero and heroine write each other letters/notes. Letters are always a heartfelt thing to do. It’s easier to bare your feeling and thought in the written word than standing in front of someone- looking them straight in the eye. It can also be a really romantic thing. What do you think makes letters special? Why did you feel the need for Cope and Ella to write those to each other?

Lauren: Letters take time. When you get a letter, especially ones like Ella and Cope exchange in Inside Out, you know the other person put aside all their other responsibilities to put you first.

When Cope sent the first letter, he’s opening himself up to Ella. She knows it’s special. He reveals this inner self to her, makes himself vulnerable. He’s this happy go lucky guy, a letter like the ones he sent is the opposite of that, it’s serious and romantic.

From the start, I felt it would have been easy to show Cope as only a super sexy guy with his sexual prowess. Ellla has seen it over the years. We’ve seen it in the first books. But the letters, well that’s different. Taking her into his house, that’s different. It’s an opening of his inner life to her and that’s intimate. That’s sexy and irresistible.

The Geeky Lover: Will there be more books in this series? We already know that Adrian will get his book next year and yes we can’t WAIT. But are there more books planned after that?

Lauren: I’m going to start a new contemporary erotic romance series with Berkley and it will spin off from Never Enough. While that one will be standalone from the Brown books, we will get glimpses of these characters in that series.

The Geeky Lover: What is next on your schedule?

Lauren: I’ve got BELIEVE out in early December. It’s a novella that picks up several months after the end of Second Chances. I’ve got a blurb up at my site but I will also warn folks that the blurb contains spoilers for Second Chances so take care if you haven’t read Second Chances yet.

Then I have a nice, semi-quiet four months until MESMERIZED comes out. That’s the next futuristic from Berkley and it’s Andrei’s book.

The Geeky Lover: Now can you tell us 3 reasons why people should read your books?

Lauren: Strong heroinesAlpha but not dumbass heroesSense of connection and community

The Geeky Lover: Can you summarize each book in your Brown Siblings series, twitter style (140 characters or less)?

Lauren: (I did these in my tweetdeck window to be sure I didn’t go over my allotted words, LOL)

Laid Bare is dark, sexy and emotional. Full of music, laughter, hot sex and some tears. Heroine-centric.

Sweet, intimate and inherently romantic , Inside Out is about two people who see straight to the heart of each other.

The Geeky Lover: Thank you for taking the time to answer all our questions Lauren.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~*~*Giveaway*~*~

Lauren is offering a signed copy of Inside Out to 1 lucky commenter

All you have to do is ask Lauren a question

or leave a meaningful comment about the interview.

Please leave us a way to contact you

(email in blogger profile or twitter name-

no way to contact you – no entry).

This giveaway is International

Giveaway ends on Saturday, November 21th and we will announce the winner on Sunday.

Good luck!

Copyright 2010-11 Book Lovers Inc.

About Susi

Susi is a geeky vegetarian from Gemany. She just finished university and now works as a civil engineer in steel construction. Besides her reading addiction she also knits like a maniac while listening to audiobooks. Susi also blogs at the Secret HEA Society.

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55 Comments

Hi 🙂Thank you for the informative interview with Lauren Dane & thanks to Lauren for sharing here. I was wondering if Lauren had any input in the gorgeous covers for her books.All the best,twitter: @RKCharron

Hello Lauren,Great interview. I’ve heard great things about your writing so I will have to check this out. I just looked at your website and all the books you have written. I see you have published with traditional publishing houses and e-publishers. What are the pros and cons of both of them?

I am glad you addressed abusive stituations, and that things can still happen,even if you do everything you are supposed to. (a very sad fact). Have you ever known anyone who went through this?debbietwoofakind12@yahoo.com

Hi RK – At Berkley, they cover conference with art, editorial, etc and they ask for my input. What my characters look like, if I have any suggestions, etc. But the concept so far for all my covers there has been totally them. With some other pubs I never was asked, LOL. Samhain has a cover request form where authors can give their suggestions for covers along with the character descriptions and all that.

Lia – I love writing for both small digital first publishers as well as larger traditional publishers. It enables me to have a variety of books coming out in a regular schedule.

Writing for Samhain allows me a lot of freedom time wise. I still have to pitch a book and have it contracted of course, but once it's turned in it comes out a lot faster than I'd see with NY. I have more freedom with the subject matter, though this is changing for the better with NY. I can track how well I'm doing far more quickly because of how digital first is structured. I love my editors (Carina = Angela James, Samhain is Anne Scott) who both give me a lot of freedom and make me work my butt off.

Traditional publishing is wonderful for a host of reasons. Distribution, exposure to a wider audience are the biggest ones for me personally. It takes longer to get a book from contract to release to payment with NY, but the system is structured differently. It means I can plan out for years in advance, which is helpful to me career wise and for peace of mind!

I get fabulous editing in both types of publishing. My covers are wonderful.

It used to be an issue of risk taking, and I think it still is easier for an editor with a digital house to contract something that may or may not hit it out of the park right off because of how costs vary. However, once you've got an editor and you're writing and doing well for a house, they're more liable to give an author some leeway with new ideas, etc.

More and more often though, the experiences are more similar than not but for the monthly payment versus biannual payment/royalty thing.

Debbie – yes, I have. For several years I worked as an advocate for children and families who'd been victimized by family violence or neglect. First with the state and then later with a non-profit where I was the legal advocate at a family shelter (handling name change paperwork, help with legal paperwork such as dissolution and custodial issues and protection orders, etc)

Lea – I love to write across genre lines! It gives me a chance to write all sorts of books so I rarely get bored, LOL.

I love to write series, partly because I like unfolding a world over the course of several books, but also because I tend toward large casts of characters and this way I can do that without total reader overload.

I was hooked on every word in the interview, and then there're the awesome books Miss Dane comes up with. How she came up with all these books is brilliant! Miss Dane, how did you finish them all? Did you ever get writer's block and overcome it? I know it's not v. original but I really wanted to ask as someone who's an aspiring author 🙂

Susi, thank you so much for the chance! You rock and it's an awesome giveaway!

I first discovered your writing thru your shifters. Fell totally in love, not only with the characters but with your writing style. You write stories that call to me on an emotional level. Do you plan on writing more in the paranormal genre?

Jade – I do get blocked, or panicked, sometimes nauseated, convinced I'll never finish a book again or that the book is a pile of dookie. And then I make myself continue to go on because I've learned this happens with every book or two and I need to ride it out to get the good parts, LOL.

I can fix it if I finish it. So the only way to do it right is to forge ahead.

Sometimes I write around the part I can't get down right, or I just push through and write it knowing I can go back and edit later. Sometimes there's a reason why I was blocked there, the scene doesn't fit, or I don't know my characters well enough until later. Etc. The key is not to let yourself give in to the flails and just keep on trucking.

Linda – of course! November of next year is the start of my new Bound By Magic series with Berkley Sensation. It'll center on the world of Clan witches that I started in a novella called Sensual Magic (Vegas…After Dark anthology). And I'll definitely be back with more de La Vega cats as well.

Victoria – it's an author thing most likely. In the course of any given 90 – 100K word book the number of times you'd use "they are" v "they're" is astounding. It's going to usually go toward author voice or just a way to mix it up – depending on the book and the author.

I don't know that I'd say "so many" as you have to write people with some hair color and perhaps red just sticks out when you see it? I have red hair, I write heroines with red hair, but also pink, lots of brown, blonde, etc. It's just a matter of only having so many options.

Pam – sure. Sometimes books just don't sell for one reason or another. I have a lot of ideas, but only so much time to write them. I have a dark urban fantasy/horror book but I'm writing it in fits and starts around my other books. I'd LOVE to finish it someday.

I don't have a question. I've only read once book of yours so far and it was a novella i believe and i really enjoyed it so i looked you up online. This series sounds great. Looks like i'm a few books behind if i want to read it. I love family ties books.

Lauren: Strong heroinesAlpha but not dumbass heroesSense of connection and community

These are the things i like in a good book as well and i am one of those people who usually has a book in my purse lol

Hi Lauren, I just wanted to say how much I really enjoyed Laid Bare and Coming Undone and can not wait to read Inside Out. Laid Bare was the first of your work I read and as soon as I finished Laid Bare I purchased most of your back catalogue, including shorts in anthologies. I love how family is the defining factor in any of your books.

I do have one small question though: if you could meet and talk to any of your characters who would you pick?

Your books sound really great. I love strong heroines and alpha men. A perfect combo! And Cope sounds like an interesting guy. After reading how you described him, I really want to read about him.

I think it's great that you include family as an imporant part of your stories. Unfortunately, many people in my family dont get along with each other, and there are some bad past experiences, so it's always interesting for me to read about close families. It's not something I'm used to.

Hi Lauren, This book looks amazing and I really like how they exhchange letters. I think its a lost practice that needs to be started again! Very romantic! I loved the interveiw. Thanks for sharing today! I'm adding your books to my list!

I can't remember if it was a year ago or two years that I had this really big romance cover obsession, i'd search through ebay or other sites looking for sexy covers and save them on my computer. And I came across your 'Laid bare' cover and I saved it onto my computer and made it my twitter background. I read a little on the book but moved on quickly and forgot. But I remember the cover 'cause of the tattoo on the girls back. I loved that cover and I still remember it. Lol.

I didn't read the other posts so I am sorry if I repeat but I love everything I have read by you. I haven't read this series yet but I really want to. The covers are beautiful. I love the bright tattoos and the hunky men. I can't wait to check this series out! And I'm one of those people who doesn't like to crease my spines and I never bend my pages. 🙂Thanks for having a contest. Kelly Tkittykelly28 at hotmail.com

My day is pretty much like I talk about in the interview. Get up, herd children and husband to their various places, deal with all the business stuff like email, interviews, guest blogs, contract stuff, update my blog or website, all that jazz and then I try to write around ferrying little people here and there. In and around all that I manage to finish books though sometimes even I don't know how it all adds up, but thankfully it does, LOL

Rachel – there's so much I'm fortunate enough to experience! I think my favorite part is the first ten minutes after I hit send to email my finished book to my editor. Followed very closely by release day when the book comes out.

Tracey – I like to make them when I have the time. Some are done exceptionally well, others are all right but I think a lot of the time authors spend a lot of money on them. I don't know that they sell more books, but I know they're a fun way to communicate something about a book that's a little different than a blurb or excerpt.

Saint – Each person is going to be benefited, or not, by a workshop depending on what works for them. Writing conferences can be very helpful in creating connections and friendships between writers. Goodness knows I've made many, really wonderful friends at conferences. But I personally don't learn that way so while I believe many conferences and workshops are really helpful to writers, I'm not one of them.

I learn by reading other authors. By watching movies and thinking on plotting and pacing from an applied standpoint. Reading Nora Roberts always teaches me things about characterization (same with Stephen King) – for instance.

Give it a try to see if you learn from it. If not, try something else.

As for querying – it sucks. It takes a lot of time and a thick skin. You're bound to be rejected a time or five and it's just not my favorite thing. BUT – it's part of the process and so if you mean to make a go of writing and publishing, you've got to do it.

I do believe I'm a true book lover. I usually prefer a day curled up with a book over a day/night out :). I am adding your Brown Siblings series to my "to read" list because you absolutely had me at "Laid Bare is dark, sexy and emotional" and "Sweet, intimate and inherently romantic, Inside Out is about two people who see straight to the heart of each other"!

Lauren – I've read the Chase series and loved it, although I haven't had a chance to start this series yet. The cover gods were definitely smiling on you. I was wondering whether you like doing research, and if there's any particular factoid you've learned that really stands out to you.

Jen – I love research but there are times when I get all caught up in it and then I want to talk about every last thing I've found out about say, New York at the turn of the 20th century, or different Celtic stories about the Fae.

S. Shapeshift – Tony also does covers for Anya Bast and Yasmine Galenorn among others. I love his work

Sullivan – I hope you enjoy.

Petit – I wrote Triad, my first novel in mid 2004. It just turned out to be very erotic as I wrote it and a friend I'd made online (who is still a dear friend to this day) Anya Bast encouraged me to send it to her publisher and I did. They wanted me to make some revisions, I did and they contracted it. All sort of one thing leading to another I suppose. Worked out pretty well for me, LOL.

Wonderful interview, ladies! I enjoy your wolf series, your Phantom Corps series, and especially this series. Do you work on all three genres at once or do you have to compartmentalize and stick with one project at a time?

Hi, Lauren! Thanks for the great interview–it's always fun to get more of a picture of an author and her writing with each visit! I do love how you write connected stories and often with families–I LOVE a series, and love those connections. The Chase brothers are on the keeper shelf, and these are on the TBR (I like to have them all before I start, if I can manage to resist!) I'm about to start your Cascadia wolves 🙂

And hats off to you–doing the mom thing is about all I can manage most days; I bow down to you moms who also work/write! I often have to ignore somewhat urgent matters just to sneak in some time to read 😉

fantastic interview – thanks so much for sharing! and congrats on your newest release! I've read the first two books in the series and they are keepers and I tell all my friends about them… couldn't put them down and now I can't wait to read Inside Out – Christmas holidays will be soon and then I will have the time 🙂wish you all the best, Ina

Hi, Lauren. I love the Browns. The characters are just as vivid as the book covers. I got so "into" reading these books dust bunnies took over the house until I finished. I am looking forward to Believe. Where/when is the strangest place/time you've been when you've had an idea for a story?

It probably means I am at least slightly obsessive/compulsive, but it really freaks me out when people don't use bookmarks. I just hate to see books placed face down open so that when you have finished reading it, it is twice as thick as it was when you started.